Papers in the Wind
by Protector of Meladon
Summary: Then, Luna's magazine, as well as a few homework papers, blew off the bleacher they were sitting on. As if nothing ever happened, Luna and Harry jerked apart. R&R!


**Author's Note:** Here's my first Harry/Luna fic, so please be gentle. If anyone is OOC, let me know, and I'll rework it. I've just gotten into this particular ship, and i'm a little anxious as to what you will think. Leave me feedback! Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** Damn JKR is lucky....

**Papers in the Wind**

She guessed it could have been called funny. That's why people laugh, right? She knew people laughed at her, called her a freak, and had aptly dubbed her "Loony Lovegood".

But she didn't care.

In fact, she didn't care about anything at all. Both of her parents were dead, and she was in the custody of her rarely sober cousin, Mark. She still talked of her parents as though they were alive. Most psychiatrists would call it unhealthy, but again, she didn't care. She didn't live in a normal world. She lived in one more far-fetched than the wizarding world, and she loved every part of it. The people surrounding her didn't matter, and she shut out their snide remarks. She saw inside the mind of inanimate objects, and felt the pain of the clouds every time they cried. (Most people said it was raining, but then again, Luna wasn't most people.)

She didn't enjoy the company of other people to be honest. She'd been a loner since day one, her father too busy and her mother too uncaring. So she'd taught herself that either people hated her, or they were simply too busy in their own lives to give her a second glance. But she was happy for them anyway. They didn't need her to be happy. The only reason they needed her was to poke fun at. So she'd come up with zany and bewildering explanations for the way she was, and she'd laugh at people when they'd laugh at her.

Today was no exception. She meandered into the Great Hall with her usual faraway air, and she fished through her bag for her Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook, turning it upside down. It was a game she played with herself, and it earned her many incredulous and judgmental glares. She'd read the words...and well, it was a little hard to explain to someone who wasn't exactly her.

She plopped down next to Cho Chang, who was on her most recent rant about Harry Potter.

"The most insensitive, assuming-" she raged to her friend, Marietta Edgecombe

Luna heard all of it, and when Cho finally took a breath, Luna dared a few thoughts aloud.

"Well, if you weren't so much of a leak machine, you just might see that Harry has problems too."

"I'm well aware he has problems, Lovegood!" she snapped, tears forming in her eyes.

"Then why do you try to burden him with your own?" Luna asked pensively, turning her book sideways and back upside down again.

Marietta threw her a withering glare, and commented scathingly "Stay out of what you don't understand Loony."

She put a comforting arm around Cho's shoulder and led her away from the Ravenclaw table; constantly shooting livid glares at Luna's back on the way out.

Luna chuckled to herself. It wasn't usual for her to speak to people such as Cho, but it really annoyed her that she was the way she was. Poor Harry had enough going on without Cho trying to dump her problems on him. It might have been a little different, but that's what she believed from what she gathered about the situation.

Luna shifted her thoughts to Harry. Surprisingly, she had only just fully realized that he went to school with her, this year. Of course, now that she had discovered his existence in a more real way, that meant she had discovered people like Ron and Hermione. Ron, she thought, was a very honorable person, even if he was quick to assume. Hermione could always let her academic ego deflate a little, and be more open-minded.

Still, as popular as Harry was, he was nevertheless an enigma to her. He was a brave person, and part of what some people had christened "The Golden Trio" or "The Dream Team". She had to laugh at that. In fact, she laughed at a lot of things most people didn't laugh at.

He had saved the Sorcerer's Stone, killed a basilisk, helped Sirius Black (or Stubby someone, she still wasn't clear on that) escape the Dementor's Kiss, won the Triwizard Tournament, and thwarted Voldemort several times included. He was heroic, modest, irritable, and slightly ignorant. He was-

"Hey Luna." Ginny said, jarring Luna out of her thoughts.

"Weasley is our King, no?" Luna said dreamily, not sure of why she had said that.

Ginny narrowed her eyes and snorted. Then she laughed. Just like they always did.

"You're a real character, Luna. Want to come watch Gryffindor practice? Our game is tomorrow." Ginny said, eyeing Luna's upside down book.

"If the winds of the east agree, I shall be there." Luna replied simply.

Ginny stared. " So do they agree?"

Luna smiled, starry eyed. "I do not know yet. Perhaps during break I will be so inclined as to seek them out and inquire."

Ginny grinned. That was Luna all right.

"Okay, if the east winds agree, meet me at the Quidditch Pitch at seven."

Luna smiled back and Ginny hurried back over to her house table, stopping along the way to chat with Dean and Seamus. She sat herself beside her best friend Colin Creevey, and drained her pumpkin juice.

Luna packed up her things. She got through most of her classes without any disturbances, and even managed to keep her "weirdness" down to a small percentage during a particularly boring Care of Magical Creatures class. Augurey's were very interesting creatures, and Luna took great pleasure in knowing the answers to all the questions Professor Hagrid was asking, although she never raised her hand. She just plastered her normal vague and dreamy look on her face, and stared at the tree instead of the bird they were supposed to be studying. She looked to the east, and a harsh wind whipped through the brush around the lake and caused the willow to dip her many hands into it's depths.

"Hello." Luna said to no one in particular.

A few students shot her looks of extreme bewilderment. The rest just rolled their eyes and either stuck up there nose, or got on with the lesson.

Luna turned her back on the class and watched the wind blow through the grounds like an angry spirit. Her skirt stuck to her legs and whisked around in the back. Her brown hair flew reverse in suit with her skirt, and a few tendrils obscured her eyesight a little. She wrinkled her nose and closed her eyes, throwing open her arms and barely missing her fellow Ravenclaw mate, Cherry Greene.

She let the wind howl in her ears. She beamed widely and spun around, shrieking like mad.

"I can go to the Gryffindor Quiddtich practice!" she cheered.

"Righ' now Lovegood, pay attention." Hagrid reprimanded kindly.

Luna nodded tranquilly and continued the rest of the lesson in silence, not unleashing her "weirdness".

So when six o'clock rolled around, Luna was sitting in the pitch, near the top of the bleachers, fiddling with her nearly broken quill.

"Right, now if you've got any problems with that, tell me so right now!" she heard Angelina Johnson shout at the anxious team members.

The two new beaters seemed to quail under her authoritative glare, while Ginny, Ron, and the chasers, Katie Bell and Alicia Spinnet just nodded. Angelina set loose only one bludger, out of pity on Kirke's nervous spasms, and was fit to be tied when he jumped off his broom as it came hurtling after him.

**"KIRKE! THERE IS A REASON YOU HAVE A CLUB!-"** Angelina bellowed, calling a quick break..

Luna looked up from her badly taped quill. Harry had taken a seat next to her, and was watching with a half-grin on his face, as if he thought an outright smile might insult her.

"Hello Luna." he said.

"Harry." she nodded.

"Boy, they're getting it from Angelina, huh?" Harry said in attempt to make conversation.

**"-SO INCENSED! AND YOU!-"** she roared, pointing at the other beater. **"DON'T THINK I DIDN'T SEE ALL YOUR SHENANIGANS!"**

"So it would seem."

Serenity was everything that Luna was. Harry found it almost unbearable. She didn't seem to be fazed by anything that came her way. What kind of human being was like that? Surely she had feelings...

"How do you feel, Luna?" Harry blurted.

Completely unruffled, Luna turned her gaze over onto Harry.

"Splendiferous!" she announced, putting the quill calmly back into her bag.

Harry choked on his laughter. Serenity and "splendiferous" didn't really go hand in hand. But Luna didn't seem to go hand in hand with anything.

Without thinking, Harry reached out and took her hand in his. Their eyes locked as a fierce wind picked up all around them, causing many groans from the team. Hair blowing about like crazy, the two stared at each other for what seemed like ages.

Then, Luna's magazine, as well as a few homework papers, blew off the bleacher they were sitting on. As if nothing ever happened, Luna and Harry jerked apart.

"Let me help you with that." he said, as his pale face darkened slightly.

They scrambled around catching papers and chasing the magazine. Harry straightened up as the wind died down a little, shaking his head and tidying the papers in his hands. He set them down under her heavy bag, and brushed his hands off on his pants.

Luna was still pursuing the magazine, not looking where she was going. She caught it just as it flew past Harry's left ear, and didn't move as their eyes locked again. Her arm was still outstretched, quivering beside Harry's head.

The wind picked up again, more forcefully than before.

Luna was blown right into Harry, so that they were lightly touching, not moving her arm at all. His arms encircled her frail body, and pulled her even closer so that their bodies were pressed firmly against each other. Her arm still quivered.

"How do you feel?" Harry repeated.

"I feel like this." she said, running her spare hand down the side of his face, and down his neck, letting it rest on his shoulder.

Harry grinned. " Let me rephrase that smarty. _What_ do you feel?"

Luna paused.

"I feel....you." she breathed.

Luna leaned in for the kiss, gently pressing her lips against his. He deepened the kiss, and she dropped her magazine, putting her arms around his neck.

The whole team cheered as she arched into him, but she didn't seem to care.

She was Luna Lovegood. She didn't care about a lot of things.

Well, now she could add Harry to her list of things she actually _did_ care about.

**End**


End file.
